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General David Cobb. 



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BRIEF MEMOIR 



General David Cobb, 



EEVOLXJTIONART ARMY. 






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M E M O I E. 



'TPHE American Revolution — with its preliminary dis- 
cussions of the rights of man, its long and arduous 
struggle for independence, and its intellectual grapple with 
conflicting theories of government, ending in the estab- 
lishment of our Republic — was the school in which was 
formed a race of men whose robust characters bore the 
impress of that training, and who in turn gave to their 
country its stamp of native vigor, its sturdy manhood, 
and its solid and durable institutions. Such a man was 
David Cobb, the subject of this sketch. He was born 
in Attleborough, Mass., 14 Sept. 1748 ; died in Boston, 
17 April, 1830; H. U. 1766. The celebrated Master 
Marsh, of Old Braintree (now Quincy), prepared him for 
college. After his graduation, he commenced the study 
of medicine, under Dr. Perkins, and was engaged in suc- 
cessful practice in his native place, when the Revolutionary 
movement began, in which he was an early and prominent 
actor. He was secretary of the Bristol Co. Convention in 
1774 ; and, as a member of the General Court convened in 
Oct. 1774, was the colleague of Robert Treat Paine, a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence. Early in 1777 he 
was commissioned lieut.-col. in Henry Jackson's (16th) 
reg., in which he encountered some hard service, particu- 
larly at Springfield, N.J. ; at Monmouth ; and at Quaker 



Hill, R.I., where he led what may be called a forlorn 
hope, to delay with 20 men the progress of the Hessian 
cavahy. His activity, talent, and high military qualities 
attracted the attention of the Commander-in-chief, who, on 
15 June, 1781, appointed him one of his aides, in which 
caj)acity he participated in the capture of Cornwallis. He 
remained in this position until 1784, having also been com. 
lieut.-col. commanding the 5th reg. (late Rufus Putnam's) 
7 Jan. 1783, and a brig.-gen. by brevet. 

After the Commander-in-chief took leave of the army. 
Col. Cobb passed considerable time at Mt. Vernon, as a 
member of Gen. Washington's military family. Next to the 
high personal regard which he entertained for the General, 
was his great admiration of Lady Washington, whom he 
was fond of quoting as his beau-ideal of womanly grace and 
loveliness. It is said Gen. Washington usually retired to 
his library from the dinner-table, where he often engaged 
in social conversation. On one occasion, when Col. Cobb 
was Avith him there, Gen. Washington broke the silence 
by saying he felt a great solicitude about the prospects 
of the people of Massachusetts. " The climate," said he, 
" is cold and trying, the soil sterile and unproductive. 
The best crop would be of stones : you can raise a few 
onions, perhaps, but little else. While we in Virginia 
are favored with a most salubrious climate, and Avith a soil 
as rich and productive as the sun ever shone upon." Col. 
Cobb replied : " Sir, we have our heads and our hands." 
Gen. Washington then smiled, an unusual thing for him 
to do. 

Surely, what would New England, with its cold and in- 
hospitable climate, and its uninviting soil, have been to- 
day, but for the heads and hands of its early inhabitants ? 

Returning to his home early in 1784, Col. Cobb resumed 
his profession, and was in that year ajDp. to the bench of 



the Court of Common Pleas, where he contmued 12 j^ears, 
and was also maj.-gen. of the 5th div. Mass. militia in 
1786-93. 

During the insurrectionary movements in ISIassachusetts 
in 1786, when the courts of justice were threatened by 
lawless and desperate men, determined to impede the pro- 
cesses of the law for the collection of debts, Judge Cobb 
resolved to support the court and the laws. " The militia 
were ordered out. The robe of the judge was thrown 
aside, the martial garb resumed. Court day arrived. 
Sounds ominous and threatening arose from the mob ; but 
when the citizen-soldiers were seen stead}^ at their posts, 
extended in double lines from the doors of the court- 
house, — when the resolute demeanor of the commander 
was observed, — the tone of defiance sunk to that of re- 
monstrance, and the general was entreated to withdraw 
his soldiers. ' Away with jonr whining ! ' was his deter- 
mined and memorable reply. ' I will hold this court if I 
hold it in blood. I will sit as a Judge, or I will die as a 
General.' In an instant all was quieted : the mob stole 
off secretly and silently, and the laws triumphed." 

A somewhat similar scene was enacted in October of the 
same year, upon the oj)ening of the session of the Supreme 
Court. " On one side of the village [Taunton] was posted 
a large body of armed insurgents : on the other, the 
supporters of government, the defenders of the laws. 
The cannon were planted, the matches Avere lighted and 
waving. Had the government selected for their com- 
mander one who was either rash or timid, that peaceful 
village might have witnessed transactions equal in atrocity 
to the most horrible of the French Revolution. The re- 
sponsibility was great, but the man was equal to the emer- 
gency. He drew a line with his sword on the ground, 
and said to the rebel leader, ' Pass that line and I fire, 



the blood be upon your own head.' Again the laws tri- 
umphed : the court sat in peace, the insurgents dispersed ; 
and from that day to this, in that county, not an arm has 
been raised to resist the civil authority." 

Elected in May, 1789, sole representative of Taunton to 
the General Court, he was at once chosen speaker, retain- 
ing that j)osition until 1793, when he became a member of 
the Third Congress. In 1795 he settled with his family 
in Maine, as agent of the " Bingham Purchase ; " and in 
1799 was appointed agent of the proprietors of Goulds- 
boro'. Me. 

In 1802 he was made a senator from the eastern district, 
and was immediately elected president of that body, a post 
he held for three j^ears. He was in 1808 elected to the 
council ; was Lieut.-Gov. of Mass. in 1809 ; was one of the 
Board of Military Defence during the war of 1812 ; Chief 
Justice C. C. P. for Hancock Co. in 1803-9 ; and maj.-gen. 
of the 10th div. of the State militia in 1813. He took 
up his final residence in Taunton in 1820. Gen. Cobb 
received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from New 
Jersey College in 1783, and from Brown University in 
1790 ; was a member of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences and of the Mass. Medical Society, and was Vice- 
President of the Mass. Society of the Cincinnati in 1810. 

Gen. Cobb was the parent of the flourishing academy 
at Taunton ; and, whenever any public good was to be 
effected, was active and efficient, contributing from his 
own resources to the full extent of his means. As a phy- 
sician, he was sagacious, learned, and eminently successfid. 
As a soldier, he was fearless and intrepid, calm and collected 
in danger, rapid and decisive in judgment, and prompt in 
execution. To tlie courts he brought a competent knowl- 
edge of the law. Although he was not a lawyer, his clear 
perceptions and strong sense enabled him to detect sophis- 



try, and to remove the impediments ^Yitll which artifice 
and legal ingenuity too often contrive to embarrass the 
progress of justice. A Federalist in politics, he was dis- 
tinguished for his love of order and his attachment to the 
Constitution. As the presiding officer of a public body, 
he was unrivalled. Graceful and dignified in his deport- 
ment, he despatched the public business with ease and 
facility, and won by his impartial performance of the duties 
of the chair the praise even of his adversaries. His man- 
ners and disposition were pleasing ; his wit and humor, his 
fund of anecdote, and above all his powers of conversation, 
his vivacity, and flow of language, made him the delight 
of his friends, and a most acceptable guest at the social 
board. 

Hon. Joseph Williamson, of Belfast, Me., thus describes 
the general's appearance and manners : " In stature he 
was large, and had a full face and over-awing eye. He 
was hasty in temper, and expressed himself with much 
energy and a most commanding voice. I have heard him 
order a lawyer to silence, and to his seat, with a power of 
voice and feeling that was almost overwhelming. On a 
certain occasion, supposing that an attorney at the bar was 
guilty of a fraudulent act, he exclaimed with great force, 
while on the bench, ' A dishonest lawyer ! he is worse than 
the devil, for he violates personal confidence and a sacred 
oath ! ' His costume was that of the Revolution. When 
he attended court, he wore a tri-cocked hat, broad-backed 
coat, a single-breasted jacket with pocket-flaps, breeches 
with bands and buckled at the knee, and high white top- 
boots. He walked with a measured gait, his military air 
having become second nature." 

His descent from Austen ^ or Augustine ^ Cobb was through 3/or- 
gan;' b. 29 Dec. 1673, d. 30 Sept. 1755, m. 22 May, 1735, Esdier 
Hodges; Thomas ^ (his father), who m. Lydia, eldest dau. of James 



8 



Leonard of Taunton. Col. David m. in 176G Eleanor Bradish 
and had — 

Eleanor, 23 Mar. 1767, m. James Hodges, d. 30 Oct. 1842. 
Betsey, 5 June, 1768, d. Apr. 1830, m. Ebenezer Smith. 
Thomas, 29 Jan. 1772, d. Oct. 1844, m. Abby Hall. 
AViLLiAM Gray, 10 Feb. 1773, unm., killed 4 Nov. 1791, in 

battle with the Indians, being an ensign under Gen. St. Clair. 
Eunice, 17 Nov. 1774, d. 6 June, 1826, m. 1792 Hon. S. S. 

Wilde, and had nine children. 
Mary, 26 July, 1776, d. 17 Oct. 1851, m. Col. John Black of 

Ellsworth, Me. 
David, 3 Apr. 1778, unm., killed by Indians on N. W. Coast, 

24 Oct. 1794. 
Sally, 15 Jan. 1780, d. oe. ab. 17. 
Ebenezer Bradish, 30 Oct. 1781, d. bef. 1840. 
Henry Jackson, 18 Dec. 1784, d. unm. July, 1848. 
Geo. Washington, 14 Jan. 1790, m. Abby Crocker, dau. of 

Hon. Samuel of Taunton. After d. of bro. David in 1794, G. W. 

prefixed David to his name ; d. 27 Feb. 1832. His children 

were: George Thomas; Samuel Crocker, m. 1848; Elizabeth 

Baylies, m. Baylies Sanford of Boston ; Sarah, Crocker, m. 

Curtis Guild of Boston. 



